February 24, 2023

Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health staff members are initiating an effort to obtain paid family leave.

Staff members from Drexel’s Public Health department have begun work on developing a policy brief to discuss the impacts of paid leave among professional staff. Among the Public Health staff advocates is Natalie Shaak, operations manager for the Center for Hunger-Free Communities and chair of the Dornsife School of Public Health Staff Coordinating Committee.

“Most people find that if they are not paid, they can’t take time off,” Shaak said. “That tends to impact lower wage workers and lower income families much more.”

Following the release of their brief, Shaak and the Dornsife School of Public Health Staff Coordinating Committee are hoping the university will implement a six week paid leave for staff members to match the existing policy for faculty. The committee is an advocate for better and paid leave for families on the basis of the positive impact that extended leave has on both parents and children, especially in the case of maternity or paternity leave.

“There’s a lot of really important things as far as family bonding and mental health that are impacted by people being able to take time off after having a child. There’s also a piece of it that is related to physical health for the child and specifically the mother,” Shaak said.

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